What you’ll learn (TL;DR)
- Seller impersonation fraud occurs when criminals sell property they don't own, using stolen personal information.
- Freezing your credit blocks criminals from opening new accounts in your name, reducing identity theft risks.
- Monitoring existing accounts and varying passwords can further safeguard your financial security.
The Growing Threat of Seller Impersonation
In 1999, William Gordon purchased a plot of land in Arizona, envisioning it as the perfect spot to spend his retirement years. Fast forward to March 2023, and Mr. Gordon made a shocking discovery: the lot had been sold to a stranger—without his knowledge. He had fallen victim to an increasingly prevalent scheme known as seller impersonation fraud. In this scam, fraudsters pose as legitimate property owners, selling properties they have no legal right to.
How does something like this happen? The answer lies in the wealth of personal information available to cybercriminals. Fraudsters gather information through hacking emails, phishing, and even mining public records or stolen data obtained from breaches. With enough personal data in hand, they can convincingly impersonate the property owner, causing significant financial and emotional distress for their victims.
Unfortunately, Mr. Gordon’s case isn’t isolated. As data breaches become more widespread, criminals are finding more ways to exploit stolen information. That’s exactly
why title companies exist – to verify everyone involved in a real estate transaction and stop fraud like this from happening.
While
your title company plays a critical role in verifying the identities of all parties involved in a real estate transaction, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself from other forms of fraud, such as identity theft. One such step is freezing your credit.
Why Freeze Your Credit?
2024 has already seen an unprecedented number of data breaches, leaving countless Americans vulnerable. Sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, addresses, and phone numbers, has been exposed to bad actors across the globe. Security experts are urging everyone to consider freezing their credit as a proactive measure to limit the potential damage caused by these breaches.
So, what exactly does freezing your credit do? It effectively blocks new accounts from being opened in your name. This means that even if a fraudster gains access to your personal information, they will be unable to open loans, credit cards, or any other financial services in your name without your consent. While freezing your credit doesn’t prevent all types of fraud, it acts as a safeguard for one of the most damaging forms—identity theft.
In today’s world, identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes, and it can wreak havoc on your financial health and personal life. Freezing your credit gives you a crucial layer of protection, making it much harder for these criminals to impersonate you financially.
How to Freeze Your Credit
Freezing your credit is a straightforward process, and best of all—it’s free! Here’s how to do it:
- Contact the credit bureaus: Start by reaching out to the three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can do this either online or by phone. For convenience, visit
www.usa.gov/credit-freeze for direct links to the bureaus' websites.
- Provide documentation: When freezing your credit, you’ll need to provide some personal information, including your Social Security number and proof of identity, such as a driver’s license or utility bill.
- Receive a PIN or password: Once your request is processed, each credit bureau will provide you with a unique PIN or password. Be sure to keep this information safe, as you’ll need it to unfreeze your credit in the future.
How to Unfreeze Your Credit
A credit freeze is not permanent, and it’s designed to be easy to lift when you need to access credit again. Keep in mind that freezing your credit prevents anyone—including you—from opening new accounts in your name. If you plan to apply for a loan or a new credit card, you’ll need to temporarily unfreeze your credit with each of the three bureaus.
The process is quick, simple, and free. Federal law requires credit bureaus to lift the freeze within one hour of your online or phone request. This flexibility ensures that freezing your credit won’t be an inconvenience when you need access to financial services.
While freezing your credit doesn’t stop criminals from misusing your existing accounts, it does serve as a strong defense against identity theft and new account fraud. With a freeze in place, fraudsters can’t open new lines of credit under your name, protecting your financial reputation and limiting the potential damage from a data breach.
Here are a few additional steps to safeguard your financial information:
- Prevent existing accounts from being misused: Monitor your accounts closely for charges you did not make. Thieves will sometimes withdraw a small amount of money from your account, then return to take more if the small amount goes unnoticed.
- Vary your passwords: In the event of a data breach, varying your passwords is essential. If one of your accounts is compromised, attackers cannot easily access your other accounts. Using
strong passwords for each account you have helps ensure that one leaked password does not give hackers access to your entire digital life.
